Now that the Labour leadership race is over and a new prime minister is in place, we have to see whether Robert Abela delivers on his promises.

Only time will tell.

The most important task I hope he will undertake immediately is the rehabilitation of Malta’s tarnished image. After all, we are in politics because we love our country.

Loving our country means abiding by the law, seeing that our institutions work and ensuring that justice prevails and everyone pays his dues.

When I say “paying one’s dues” I mean that everyone has to be responsible for one’s actions.

In the months that led to the downfall of Joseph Muscat as prime minister there was talk that justice wasn’t being done and that he had to assume political responsibility for his decisions.

One cannot agree more.

However, what is more worrying is when and how this crisis started. This domino effect of a series of events began when we got to know about the secret Panama companies owned by Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi, something Muscat did nothing about. I follow the posts uploaded to social media and talk to many people. A number of people argue that Schembri and Mizzi did nothing illegal in setting up these companies. So what were their intentions?

In one of the very first criminal law lectures, first-year law students are told that for a criminal act to be carried out and to be found guilty there must be both mens rea and actus reus.

I sincerely hope that a new broom sweeps clean and that the new prime minister means business

Mens rea is the person’s intent behind committing a crime. Actus reus is the action the person takes to perform the criminal act.

So even if no transactions took place that was their intention as there were structures in place. So when people defend Mizzi and Schembri I want to bang my head against the wall in anger because it is clear that they do not understand anything. 

The government legislates and imposes taxes, both direct and indirect, and has the legal duty to see they are collected.

The government has the right, through legal mechanisms, to take action against those who don’t pay.

Therefore, one wonders what an impression one gets when two of the then prime minister’s former aides are doing their utmost to evade tax.

What an example!

The message sent is that once they can evade tax and get away with it everybody can. This is wrong! This means that they don’t have faith in the Maltese tax system. Having said that I hope that the new prime minister sees that nobody under his control will try to go down the same route.

Malta’s reputation as a financial hub, which the Nationalist Party in government successfully built from scratch, started to falter.

Malta’s image has developed into that of a money laundering country where everything is acceptable. I hope the new prime minister works on this too and shows that not everything goes.

Muscat’s Labour government had the cheek to blame Nationalist MEPs for damaging Malta’s reputation. What a shame.

It is one thing criticising the government and working against it and quite another working against Malta’s interests. The government is not Malta.

To ensure that this reputation is re-established the prime minister has to instil faith in Malta’s institutions and allow them to work independently.

If this does not happen he can be assured he will find the Opposition breathing down his neck.

I sincerely hope that a new broom sweeps clean and that the new prime minister means business.

Ivan Bartolo is the Nationalist Party’s spokesperson on social accommodation, the fight against poverty and social exclusion.